unabhängigvsunabhängigeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“unabhängig” and “unabhängige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,865
“unabhängig” frequency rank
#5,658
“unabhängige” frequency rank
7523
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unabhängig unabhängige
Definition politisch, wirtschaftlich selbstständig Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unabhängig

Where the eye mixes unabhängig and unabhängige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. unabhängig runs 10 letters (VCVCCVCCVC) against unabhängige's 11 (VCVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
unabhängig
11 ch
unabhängige

Visual trap between unabhängig and unabhängige

A purely visual mix-up. unabhängig ([ˈʊnʔapˌhɛŋɪç]) and unabhängige ([ˈʊnʔapˌhɛŋɪɡə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “unabhängig” sits inside “unabhängige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7523, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unabhängig is recorded at frequency rank #1,865, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʔapˌhɛŋɪç]. unabhängige is at rank #5,658, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʔapˌhɛŋɪɡə].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 7523, this pair ranks #1,987,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of unabhängig vs unabhängige

Shared letters: abghinuä. Private to "unabhängig": -. Private to "unabhängige": e.

"unabhängig" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVC  ·  "unabhängige" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "unabhängig" for "unabhängige" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊnʔapˌhɛŋɪç] versus [ˈʊnʔapˌhɛŋɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "unabhängig" vs "unabhängige" - which ranks higher?
"unabhängig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,865 in our German list, against #5,658 for "unabhängige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "unabhängig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unabhängige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,987,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unabhängig" and "unabhängige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unabhängige vs unabhängiges". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,987,849 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list